As I worked my way through the text of Exodus 33:18-34:8 on Sunday Morning I tried to discern distinct truths about God that I saw revealed in our passage.  So we talked about God being a revealing God,  a creating God, a loving God, a holy God, a sovereign God, and a glorious God.  But with each of these attributes of God we only scratched the surface.  We didn't talk, for instance, about God's love for himself, the love that exists between Father, Son, and Spirit.  We didn't talk about that mainly because in the text God's love is an outward flowing love.  He forgives us and his covenant love is a love directed toward us in the passage.  But still, I would argue that the foundation of God's love for human beings, who are made in his image, is his love for himself.  Consider what Jesus says in John 15:9, "As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love."  Jesus love for us is analogous to the Father's love for him.  But which came first?  The Father's love for the Son, of course.  Or, as Jesus says in John 17:4, "Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory that you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world."  So, the next time that you reflect upon God's incredible love for you, pause and reflect upon the fact that his love for us is grounded in the love that he has for his own Son.

PS.  I suppose that I could have discerned and therefore brought out this aspect of God's love for his people by pointing to Moses' appeal to God's concern for his own name in chapter 32 as he prays for God not to destroy Israel for her sin.  Certainly, there we see God's forgiveness grounded in his commitment to bring glory and honor to himself.  What are your thought's?  Can you think of any other passages in Scripture that show us that God's first love is directed toward the other Persons of the Trinity?